


Three Times a Fool

by an_aphorism



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Anal Sex, Emotional Sex, Fix-It, Infidelity, Light Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Post Season 8, Rutting, Sheith happy ending guarantee, Threesome, Voyeurism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-04
Updated: 2019-12-04
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:54:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21674032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/an_aphorism/pseuds/an_aphorism
Summary: “You know," Shiro says, "I think I’ve always wanted to try a threesome.”Keith almost chokes.Or: Shiro tries to save his dying relationship with Curtis by spicing up their sex life. When he brings Keith in as a third party to a threesome, it does not go well.
Relationships: Curtis/Keith/Shiro (Voltron), Curtis/Shiro (Voltron), Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 51
Kudos: 466





	Three Times a Fool

**Author's Note:**

> READ THE TAGS. 
> 
> This fic includes sex between all three tagged characters. I listed infidelity, but mostly it's Keith and Shiro's emotional attachment to each other. The sex herein is consented between all three, there is no behind-the-back stuff. Curtis is also treated as a decent person, just not the one for Shiro.
> 
> Mostly this is a horny fic where boys are dumb.

It’s a joke at first. A bad one.

The kind of joke told at two in the morning after a fight with your fiancé and way, way too much alcohol.

So Keith thinks nothing of it when Shiro starts slurring on about _spicing it up_ in the bedroom. Keith doesn’t exactly think sex is the issue between Shiro and Curtis, but since the proposal Keith’s been staunchly silent on his opinions of anything having to do with Curtis. It had been the only way to get through it at first, and now it’s how he maintains his walls.

Now Keith only feels a vague annoyance about Shiro's drunken complaints. Maybe by the time Keith is old and gray he will have filed his love for Shiro down to something more appropriate. Something so small he can shove it in a box and put it away.

For now he just pats Shiro’s shoulder and pushes the water toward him. “Sure, it’s an option.”

“I’ve tried toys, yanno?” Shiro mumbles into his water. “But he hates them.”

“Uh huh,” Keith says, and then takes a gulp of his own beer. The very last thing he needs it to think about Shiro and _toys._ If he drinks enough maybe he can forget this entire evening.

“Maybe—“

“Drink your water,” Keith is quick to jump in, helping the glass to Shiro’s mouth.

Shiro drinks and Keith changes the subject. Shiro is so drunk he doesn’t even notice.

##

Keith barely remembers the conversation the next day, and Shiro goes back and patches up his fight with his fiance. Keith wrongly assumes he’s avoided catastrophe.

##

Two weeks later Shiro shows up at his door with a case of beers. It’s become nearly a biweekly tradition at this point.

Keith isn’t sure if this is better or worse than when he’s on mission. When he’s away from base Shiro will send him lengthy messages with barely concealed resentment about being stuck on Earth. It had taken a while for Keith to correlate it to fights with Curtis.

It’s nice to be missed when he goes, to know that Shiro _wants_ to be out in space with him. But it still makes Keith ache for what could have been. For what he’d been so scared to take a risk on.

The only reason the messages might be better than the real life drunken Shiro is because in the messages Shiro never mentions Curtis. He saves it all up for nights like this.

“It’s just… frustrating!” Shiro opens the sixth beer, reclining back on Keith’s couch. From the kitchen Keith grabs a variety of snacks since they’re at the munchy stage of drinking.

“I love my job, he knows this. It’s important work. And I get there’s a work-life balance, but when I’m home we’re never doing anything. He just wants to sit around and watch sitcoms and so yeah, sometimes I do work late, but what? Am I just supposed to sit around and do nothing for hours every day?”

“People do. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Shiro sighs. “I know! I’m not trying to— it’s just so _boring.”_

“Have you tried having that conversation?”

"Yeah, and okay, we’ve done some stuff. Hiking, bowling, movies, it’s just not…” Shiro tips back his beer. “I know I sound like an ungrateful asshole. Curtis tries, he does, but how is he supposed to match up with piloting sentient robots? For fucks sake his favorite position is missionary!”

And that’s… off topic. Shiro is definitely more than buzzed.

“Okay,” Keith drawls.

“Who’s favorite position is missionary?!” His head, tilted back on the couch cushion, turns toward Keith. “You wouldn’t choose missionary.”

Even buzzed this throws Keith for a loop. “Uh,” he says.

“But I did talk to him about that,” Shiro goes on, too drunk not to. “And to his credit he wasn’t against trying stuff. Except toys. But fine I can work with that, you know? There’s lots off… stuff.”

Keith takes a huge swig and doesn’t dare speak. It’s taking all his faculties to keep his head out of the gutter.

“Could be fun. I should make a list, what do you think?”

Shiro’s looking at Keith again, eyes glazed. “Think?”

“Yeah,” Shiro turns back to consider the ceiling. “Candy store me, if you could try anything, what’s on your list?”

 _Licking your obscenely sharp jawline,_ Keith thinks before he can get a handle on himself. “Uh.”

It’s an impossible question that he’s had too few or too many beers to answer. Anything he suggests Shiro might actually _try,_ and then Keith will have to live with that information for the rest of his life.

But once again Shiro unknowingly saves him. “You know, I think I’ve always wanted to try a threesome.”

Keith almost chokes.

“Just really casual. It could be fun. I should ask. Curtis.”

“Uh huh,” Keith says.

“But maybe this weekend you and I should go racing? Some fresh air, I think. You free?”

The wild careening into new topics leaves Keith spinning. “Yeah,” he says, pretending Shiro wasn’t just discussing his threesome dreams with Keith. “Yeah I’m free.”

##

It gets worse after that, but only when Shiro drinks. When Shiro drinks he gives Keith a play by play of his sex adventures with his fiancé. Admittedly it’s not graphic, and Keith _could_ ask his best friend to stop.

But then what would he shamefully jerk off to?

“But oh!” Shiro says drawing a card. They’re playing a very sloppy card game, betting M&Ms between them. For once Keith’s further into the bottle and therefore further into chocolate debt. “I finally did talk to Curtis about a third party.”

Keith draws and gets fuckall. He tries to scrutinize his cards as if glaring at them might change his fate. “A third party?”

He puts down a card and Shiro gleefully counters it. Two green chocolates gets swiped from Keith’s stash.

“Yeah the threesome. He said okay. It just has to be somebody we know and trust.”

Keith looks up and then quickly back down. He’s all but forgotten that hazy prior conversation. “Oh, cool.”

Shiro loses the next round and Keith gets five candies back. “Hah!” He mocks.

Shiro reaches over to drunkenly push him. “I didn’t rub your face in my wins.”

Keith pops one of the candies in his mouth and chews obnoxiously. “And how’s that honor doing you now?”

Shiro laughs and the cards fall from his hands. Keith only has a second to see that mischief in his eyes before he springs for Keith’s chocolates.

They wrestle until they get too dizzy and end up winded and chocolate smeared in a tangle on the carpet.

“Sore loser,” Keith grins, lying on his back. 

Shiro, beside him, turns and disgustingly licks where he smeared chocolate across Keith’s cheek just a minute earlier. “Ungracious winner,” he snickers.

##

“Keith,” it’s another month before their hangout involves alcohol again. Keith was, pettily, starting to miss them.

Mostly, and he’s ashamed to admit this even to himself, he’s become so dependent on hearing how poorly Shiro and Curtis’ relationship is going.

Not because Shiro doesn’t deserve a happy and fulfilling relationship and not even because Keith wants—

 _No_.

Keith has just become certain over time that Shiro and Curtis are a bad match. Objectively. The relationship is clearly bad for both of them and the last thing he wants is for either of them to settle into perpetual unhappiness. People do that, he knows, and it’s bad for everyone. It makes wounds that can span generations.

So every time Keith hears about a new fight, he is hopeful it will be the tipping point. That finally either Shiro or Curtis will see the obvious writing on the wall.

They’re too different, and neither of them want to change. There’s no shame in that. No shame at all in calling it quits.

“Keith,” Shiro bumps him. They’re on Keith’s couch with drinks and pizza, watching some corny sci fi show. Except the watching is more passive, mostly they’ve been chatting about the week.

“Hm?”

“So uh, speaking of Curtis… we were talking and uh.”

For a bright, shiny moment Keith thinks, _this is it._ His attention ratchets up and he reaches for his beer as a distraction.

“So we have a list of candidates.”

This makes no sense with Keith’s anticipation of their break up. “A list?”

“Yeah, thought maybe you could help me choose who to ask.”

This makes even less sense.

“What?”

Shiro looks away, his cheeks flush from drink. It occurs to Keith then how much drinking they’ve done and that Shiro’s favorite reoccurring topic only comes up when he’s at least five deep.

Keith turns his head and quickly counts the empties. _Fuck_.

“So first, Kinkade.”

Keith gulps his beer to give himself a second. Now Shiro wants his opinion on who to bring in for their threesome?! _Fucking fuck._

“He’s nice,” Keith says when Shiro looks at him expectantly.

“Yeah, just worried there’s a power dynamic with work.”

“True,” Keith says, and then because he can’t help himself. “And you wouldn’t want that. Strike him.”

Shiro nods. “What about Matt?”

“Eh, doesn’t he have that thing with N-7?”

Shiro makes a humming sound of agreement. “Quinn?”

Keith has to think on that one to remember who he is. Then he remembers Curtis' birthday party and one of the men that was glued to Curtis’ side. “Curtis’ friend? Would he be into that?”

Shiro shrugs. “I dunno, Curtis offered it, guess they’d had a friends with benefits thing a few years ago.” It’s not said with any ill will, Shiro even sounds vaguely curious.

Keith bristles. “Well you might not want to bring in a known entity like that. And how well do you know Quinn?”

Keith already knows the answer, but it satisfies something in him to see Shiro waffle.

“I mean, I trust he’s a good guy.”

Keith turns completely to face Shiro, waving his beer to accent his point. “Look, if you really wanna do this threesome thing, then you should really go with someone you can trust, that you know deeper than ‘he’s a good guy’.” He’s getting too aggressive, he knows that, but he can’t stop himself. He could manage the idea of Shiro in a threesome when it was objective. Throwing around actual names makes him—

“Okay,” Shiro says with a cheeky smile. “Then what about you?”

It’s a joke, _it is_ , but then it gets into Keith’s head and puts down roots. It’s a bad idea for a thousand reasons, but when he thinks about some… some _stranger_ there in his stead, he can’t stand it.

And maybe seeing them like that will be the death knell to Keith’s overgrown feelings. Maybe having Shiro’s hands on him, seeing in his eyes nothing but casual physical enjoyment…

It’s a bad idea, a bad joke, but Keith opens his mouth and shocks both of them by saying, “Okay.”

##

There is a long drunken and fumbling conversation about it, and a longer sober one the next morning.

Then there’s a positively excruciating conversation with him, Shiro, and Curtis.

But if Keith is anything, it’s stubborn. He said what he said and he’s not going to back down if they aren’t. He’s had plenty of sex, he likes sex, that’s hardly the problem here.

The problem is a week later when Shiro opens the door to their apartment, smiling warmly at him.

He’s gorgeous.

Keith’s had a drink at his own place before coming. It was just a beer, just a little something to take the edge off but still allow himself to be responsible and present. He wishes he had at least two more.

Shiro leads him to the bedroom where Curtis is reclined in his pajamas, datapad in hand. He puts it down when Keith enters and gives him a smile.

“Hey Keith.”

“Hi,” Shiro takes him to the armchair just across from the bed. They’ve negotiated this part already, so Keith for the first session will just be watching. It’s a low pressure option, a way to test the waters and make sure everyone is okay.

Keith sits and Shiro turns to him, leaning down and blocking Curtis from view. “Okay?” He asks low, only for Keith.

Keith nods. And he is. Even a little excited. He’s had fantasies about Shiro for ages, and he’s interested to know how they stack up. It’s a bad idea, but that’s where Keith is at these days.

Shiro smiles and then turns away.

Curtis meets him on the bed, a small smile on his face. He’s rumbled, dressed down for the their activities. Keith isn't very interested in him as a person, he’s a little too bland, but objectively Keith can admit he's attractive. Not Shiro-attractive, but still.

Shiro and Curtis start kissing.

It’s strange at first to watch. Keith doesn’t ever spend time watching people make out, even in porn. He’s not sure he’s actually ever seen people make out in real life.

But Shiro pushes Curtis down into the bed and kisses him deep and it’s… good. Shiro kisses him like he knows just what he’s doing, his human hand on a Curtis jaw to move him just so. It’s more arousing than Keith would have guessed.

It also doesn’t hurt him, which Keith’s pleased to discover. He likes Shiro, loves him, and it’s a shame he’ll never have what Curtis has, but also…

Shiro is just so good and kind and wonderful in their friendship. Keith gets so much of him already, and while he wishes it were him being kissed into the sheets, he has enough distance, enough maturity, that it doesn’t wound him.

Really, it’s just hot.

Shiro pulls back after a minute and then divests them both of their shirts. Reclining back over Curtis, he runs his hands across his chest.

Curtis’ eyes fluttering closed as he makes a sound of pleasure. His own dark hands wrap around Shiro’s back. They make a nice picture, both fit and handsome.

Shiro’s hands drift to his fiancée’s waist, running up and down in a soft, careful manner.

His eyes flick up and to Keith for just a moment.

It’s an _are you watching_ kind of look, and it lights something in Keith’s belly. He meets those eyes and doesn’t move.

_I am._

Then Shiro lowers his mouth to Curtis’ nipple and nibbles it with his teeth.

Curtis’ hands scrape up to Shiro’s undercut as he groans, and Shiro continues to suck. The man doesn’t stop making noise even when Shiro moves off to suck kisses down his torso.

Keith isn’t getting hard yet, but he can feel his body priming for it. He focuses on Shiro’s shiny lips, on those huge hands that continue to scale up and down Curtis’ body.

When Shiro gets to the band of Curtis’ pajama pants, he looks up again at Keith.

This time is longer and more intent. A wicked smile curls at the edges of his mouth as he slides a finger under the waistband.

Keith meets the challenge with what he hopes is a cool placidity. His heart is beginning to pick up, but Shiro couldn’t know that across the distance. He wants Shiro to believe he’s unmoved.

Keith recognizes the look he gets in return. It’s the same one Shiro has when Keith throws down the gauntlet at sparring or racing. It’s the _oh I’ll show you._

It sends a frisson of electricity through Keith and he smirks. He should have known Shiro would be like this even in the bedroom.

The moment of stalling has caught Curtis’ attention though, and he opens his eyes to look. Shiro snaps back to his assignment, and begins to pull off the rest of Curtis’ clothing.

They both undress then as Keith watches. It’s not the first time he’s seen Shiro naked, but it is the first time in this context. The first time he’s allowed to look him over the think about how hot those huge biceps are, how tight his stomach is, how absolutely obscene his ass and thighs are.

It’s the first time Keith’s seen Shiro hard too.

Shiro peeks at him as he drops his boxers off to the side and Keith is quick to snap his mouth shut, but not quick enough. Shiro smirks.

Then Curtis is nude too, and Shiro turns his attention back. He kisses the man, hands mapping his body, moving down.

Curtis produces a bottle of lube. “Here,” he gasps just as Shiro’s hand tightens around his cock.

It’s a bit of a blur then. Keith’s not terribly interested in Curtis, but his focus on Shiro is unwavering. He watches him slick his fingers up, first teasing Curtis’ rim and then pushing in. He fingers him for a while as Curtis moans and pants.

Keith lives for the moments in between. Where Shiro will push his fingers in and look at Keith. There’s something there, something dangerous. Keith doesn’t want to draw a correlation, to imagine that Shiro means—

But it’s hard not to. He’s hard in his jeans, and there’s an electricity to Shiro’s stare. How he holds Keith’s eyes and fucks his fingers in and out as if he wants Keith to imagine—

Keith swallows hard when Shiro does look away. He discreetly palms his cock.

Part of the negotiations included that Keith was welcome to touch himself, to enjoy the show, and Keith had agreed thinking he wouldn’t. He’d assumed maybe that seeing Shiro with someone else would be off-putting enough that he wouldn’t be aroused.

But how wrong he was.

Now Shiro is pulling his fingers out and slicking up his heavy cock. The anticipation twists hot and Keith’s cock pulses.

Before Shiro pushes in, he looks again at Keith, eyes flickering down just a moment to Keith’s lap where his hand is pressed urgently. Shiro moves his hand on himself in one slow, luxurious pull.

 _Don’t you want to?_ It says to Keith.

And he does. Pulled past the line of sense, Keith forgets his shyness, forgets the reasons he shouldn’t.

He’s allowed to, and maybe Shiro even _wants_ him to. Quickly Keith unzips and pulls out his aching cock.

When he looks up it’s just in time to see Shiro’s head turning away from him, lining up his cock and pressing in. Keith squeezes the wet head of his cock as Curtis moans. He has to shut his eyes for a moment.

The fantasies are so close, too close.

And then he hears the sounds of Shiro beginning to move.

The sight is flooring. Shiro is hunched over Curtis, having pulled the man’s hips up to get the angle. It’s missionary, but Keith can’t for the life of him figure out how it’s boring.

It highlights Shiro’s strength, his muscles. And there’s something so intimate about it, how he’s curled over Curtis.

“Fuck,” Curtis hisses, clawing at the sheets.

Shiro makes a sound of affirmative, his hips fucking into the man. Keith’s near frozen by what’s happening. They’re sideways to him, so he can just catch sight of Shiro’s cock pulling out and plunging back in. He’s huge against Curtis, and it looks like it feels good. It looks overwhelming.

And Keith’s even smaller than Curtis, so for him it would be—

He squeezes the base of his cock to cut that idea off. That’s not what’s happening here, and it’s catastrophic for him to get ahead of himself. He needs to focus on what is happening right now.

Like how Shiro is just beginning to pick up speed. He’s hefted Curtis’ legs up to get a better angle and is using it to fuck him harder.

Curtis cries and curses, his hand moving across his belly to wrap around his own cock. It emboldens Keith, mostly because Curtis isn’t watching him, too lost in it. He doesn’t know why this matters, but it suddenly does. He doesn’t want Curtis to see him, only Shiro.

As Keith begins to move his hand on himself, Shiro looks over. Keith watches the man watch him. How his eyes catch on Keith’s cock, how all of a sudden both their rhythms fall into sync.

Keith strokes himself as Shiro fucks Curtis, but for a moment it’s like the other man isn’t even there. The breath is caught in Keith’s lungs and the arousal spikes. Keith can practically feel it, himself in Curtis’ place. Those silver eyes boring into him as Shiro fucks him.

“Come for me,” Shiro says then, and maybe it’s for Curtis, but his eyes are on Keith.

And Keith is powerless against it.

It’s a small, caught sound as he begins to come, and his eyes shut automatically. He strokes himself, imagining Shiro is still watching, maybe showing off a little with how good it feels.

But it does feel good. Hotter because Shiro’s eyes are on him. Hotter with the idea that Shiro wanted to see him, is maybe getting off on making Keith come.

Keith’s hand slows as his orgasm tapers off. Wetness is dripping over his hands when he collapses back into the chair. His eyes open just in time to see Shiro fucking in hard and panting, biting his lip as he begins to come.

Curtis does too, but Keith pays him no mind, couldn’t tear his eyes off Shiro for anything in the world. Because Shiro is sweat soaked, cheeks pink, and drop dead gorgeous as he comes. He holds the hips as he fucks his spill in, but there’s something so contained about it. Like he’s trying to repress a reaction.

It makes Keith wonder if he’s always like that, and if so, why? What is he containing?

It’s not a question he could ask. Wouldn’t even know how to word it.

And anyway, this is likely the last time he’ll ever see something like this. That thought does aches a little, and Keith pushes it aside.

He’s just had a great orgasm, there’s no need to ruin it.

As the two on the bed come down, Keith helps himself to a box of tissues nearby, cleaning up his mess and putting himself back in his pants. He doesn’t want to see whatever pillow talk there will be, so he excuses himself to the bathroom, using the second one further from the bedroom.

When he comes out Shiro is just coming from the bedroom, a pair of sweatpants hanging low on his hips. He’s heart-stoppingly good looking. Damn him.

“Hey, you okay?” Shiro has a smile, but it’s uncertain.

Keith pushes his own shit aside, because all things considered that was a _great_ experience, and he doesn’t want Shiro to think otherwise. “Yeah. That was good.” And then when Shiro still looks unconvinced, Keith reaches out to touch his arm. “Really. Good communication, nothing was surprising.”

“So we’re good?” Shiro asks.

Keith squeezes his bicep and then lets go. “We fought a space war in giant robot cats, Shiro, everything after that really isn’t a big deal.”

That gets a small laugh from Shiro. “Okay, you’re right.”

“Damn right,” Keith yawns then from the comedown. “And with that, I think I’m going to go if that’s okay? Sleep sounds excellent right now.”

“Yeah, okay,” Shiro says, walking him to the door. “Just tell me if anything bothers you later, okay? This was fun but I don’t want it to—“

At the door Keith turns and give him a stern look. “Shiro, trust. It’s just sex, okay?”

“I do trust,” Shiro says.

Keith nods, satisfied. “Good night then.”

Shiro’s smile then is a little more sturdy. He gives Keith’s shoulder a quick squeeze. “Good night Keith.”

##

It is normal after that. They hang out, Keith goes on Blades missions, Shiro continues to squabble with Curtis. Keith meant it when he told Shiro he was fine, but he is still sort of surprised by exactly how fine.

Because yes the fantasies about Shiro now come with lurid and accurate details, but he has the _feelings_ well in hand. He still doesn’t care for Curtis, but Keith is an adult. He’s been through war. It really is all small potatoes after that.

The most important thing is his friendship with Shiro, and that cracks on like nothing’s changed. Or almost nothing.

The only difference now is in how much more tactile Shiro is with him. They’d touched a lot before, but now Shiro doesn’t hesitate to scoot right up next to Keith on the couch. He starts to rustle Keith’s hair, to flick his nose playfully, and to poke his belly when Keith’s being stubborn or moody. It’s a nice change that Keith puts down to the increased intimacy of sharing orgasms. An unexpected benefit, or just the natural progression of their friendship.

Keith assumes once again that that is the end of it. Just another small, strange adventure they went on together.

Except the fighting between Shiro and Curtis gets worse, and the frequency of Shiro showing up at Keith’s door with drinks increases.

Tonight is another such night. Shiro sighs at the ceiling where he’s sprawled half over Keith’s lap and half off the couch. It’s a dramatic pose that picks at the corners of Keith’s mouth because it’s so ridiculous.

“I just want it to be simple.”

Keith tips back his own beer with a hum. They’ve talked on length about the latest Curtis fight.

“I spent a whole war doing the fighting, I just want to come home and have fun, you know? But I think we fight more than we fuck.”

Keith’s eyes flicker up to the table and he counts the beers. _Shit,_ he thinks at the numbers.

“That time with you though was good. Curtis was… I think he was having a good time. We should do that again.”

Keith swallows hard, his eyes moving down to look at Shiro. The man is smiling up at him drunkenly. “Uh, if you want.”

Shiro pushes himself up then, his face affecting the over-dramatic serious expression of a person too deep in the bottle and trying to pretend they aren’t. “Only if _you_ want,” he says. “Did you have a good time? Last time?”

So good that it’s been Keith’s top masturbation fantasy in the weeks since. “Yeah, it was fun.”

Shiro’s face relaxes and the stupor returns. He leans hard into Keith’s shoulder. “Good. Let’s do it again. But I want you… you on the bed this time. Joining us. Just touching though, you don’t have to…” his words slur a little then.

Keith focuses on breathing, on keeping his heart beating after the stutter it had over _but I want you._ He does _not_ need to get stuck on that.

His crisis must go on too long, because then Shiro shifts again. The head on Keith’s shoulder turns up to him and all of a sudden they’re close, too close. Their mouths are just an inch from each other. “Yes?” Shiro says, his eyes pointedly dropping to Keith’s mouth. Every alarm in Keith’s head goes off, because Shiro’s too drunk and obviously doesn’t know what he’s going. “Or no?” He says.

Keith turns his head away and clears his throat to break the tension. “Yeah, I’m in if Curtis is,” he says because it’s vitally important to remind them both of Curtis’ existence.

“Cool,” Shiro says like it's nothing, and then slides off Keith’s shoulder and plops face first onto the couch. Keith can’t help but snort.

“First though,” Keith says as he gets up. “You need some water Captain.”

##

Keith doesn’t think about that conversation afterwards, but less than a week later he gets a text from Shiro setting up a date for another threesome.

Before he answers, Keith has to take a long shower wherein he questions everything about his life and how it’s led up to this. It would be so easy to say no to Shiro, except that Keith is weak. His baser brain can only think about the part where Shiro is going to touch him, maybe even make him come in a much more tactile sense. Keith shouldn’t want it so much, should really be channelling some angsty feelings about Curtis and Shiro and their impending marriage.

But he just doesn’t have it in him. The only thing Keith has for Shiro is a fierce and undying dedication to his life and happiness. He _loves_ him, and that encompasses everything, anything. Whatever Shiro wants, Keith will provide.

Not that putting himself naked in a bed with Shiro is at all a hardship.

When he responds to the text, it’s to set the date for the end of the following week.

##

Much like the first time Shiro answer the door and checks in that Keith is okay. Unlike the first time, when they enter the bedroom Shiro walks them to the bed.

There’s been some text discussion about what Keith wanted and didn’t want to happen, but it hadn’t been extensive considering Keith was down for _whatever_ so long as it involved Shiro.

Shiro sits him down on the bed, and Keith twists to greet Curtis. All three of them are dressed down in sleepwear and the sight is oddly domestic. It helps to calm Keith’s nerves.

“We will start, okay?” Shiro looks at Keith as he moves onto the bed in front of Curtis. Keith nods in agreement.

Then once again the two of them are kissing.

Notably something is different from the first time. Instead of soft and sweet, Shiro’s a little rougher, a little more rushed. He doesn’t press his fiancé into the bed and kiss him, but cups his head and just _takes._

Curtis is the one to pull away after not very long, a slight frown between his brows. He turns to Keith then, hand out. “Can I kiss you?”

Keith has said yes to two threesomes now, but has never considered that Curtis would touch him, that he would touch Curtis. His head has been a revolving obsession with Shiro, which he thinks now was a little foolish. This is a _threesome_ after all. But it's fine now that the prospect is presented. Curtis is handsome.

“Sure.”

Curtis scoots closer then, hand gently coming to rest on Keith’s neck. He meets the man’s eyes and sees him watching Keith closely, as if to make sure it’s okay. The care, even for someone like Keith who he isn’t close to, helps. Keith leans in.

The kiss is fine. There’s certainly no sparks, and Curtis is more passive than most of Keith’s previous partners, but it’s nice enough. It’s nice to be touched by the hand that slides into Keith’s hair, nice to be kissed warm and softly. They exchange a handful of kisses, slowly deepening to something that maybe could start to go somewhere—

And then Curtis is pulled off him.

Shiro has a hand on Curtis' shoulder and is turning his fiancés head to kiss him hard. It’s hungry and lewd, and Keith doesn’t understand. Is Shiro mad he kissed…?

But no, because then Shiro is pulling away and nudging Curtis back to Keith. Their eyes meet and there’s a challenge there. Something hot with spines. Keith wants it.

Without speaking Keith knows what the game is. He can see Curtis looks a little bit dazed after the onslaught, and he wants to do Shiro one better. Keith cups the man’s face and leans in, kissing him with more passion this time, more tongue. He makes it a little sloppy, a lot showy. He can feel Shiro’s eyes boring into them.

Before Keith’s finished Shiro tugs his fiancé away again and does all the exact kisses Keith just did. And they _do_ look good, Keith can feel it stirring hot in his blood.

The next time Shiro pulls back, Curtis doesn’t even bother to open his eyes. His mouth is red and shiny, and Keith has the absurd thought to lean over and lick Shiro’s taste off them.

The moment passes quick though, and Shiro begins to divest Curtis of his clothing.

“You too,” he says, eyes on Keith.

“Not going to undress me?” Keith says it as a joke, but the second the words are out of his mouth he knows it didn’t land like that. Shiro’s laying Curtis down and tugging off his pants, but his eyes burn into Keith. He looks him up and down, a covetous look on his face.

“Next time.”

Then he bends and kisses Curtis hard as the man is spread out naked on the sheets.

Keith forces air into his lungs and tries to remind himself to keep it together. He knows from the first time that Shiro can be intense here, that in bed he’s playful and challenging. It has nothing to do with Keith personally. Keith quickly begins to undress to distract himself from the swirling arousal that’s beginning to swamp him. Shiro finishes kissing Curtis and then leans back to do the same.

It’s the appropriate situation to look at Shiro’s bare skin as it’s revealed, but Keith tries not to anyway. There’s something different, something _more_ in the air than the first time, and Keith suddenly feels as if he could be in danger of getting swept away by it.

But Shiro looks. Keith knows it from how his skin burns, his cock twitching as he pushes off his underwear.

And then they’re all naked.

“I think,” Shiro dictates, nudging Curtis onto his side. Curtis turns so his front is to Keith, his back to Shiro. “Yeah,” Shiro says.

The man shuffles and reclines then behind his fiancé, looping an arm around his waist and dropping a kiss to his shoulder.

Both eyes look over Keith who’s still kneeling.

“Come here,” Curtis says, gesturing to the space in front of him.

“Oh,” Shiro interrupts just as Keith is about to move. “Grab the lube first,” he points to the bedside table on Keith’s side.

Keith does, their fingers grazing as Keith hands the bottle over. Shiro smirks.

“Thanks.”

Keith lies down then and moves closer to Curtis who is quick to pull him in for a kiss. A large, non-Curtis hand touches Keith’s bare hands and drags him closer, putting him and Curtis nearly flush.

Keith’s skin burns where Shiro touched him even as the hand moves away to fuss with the lube.

“You’re really very attractive,” Curtis says then. They’re so close it’s only a whisper. Curtis’ long fingers slide through his hair, tucking it behind one ear. Then it begins to trail down.

“Thanks,” Keith breathes. If Shiro lights him up, attention from Curtis is like a cooling balm. His dark hands roam the length of Keith’s body, highlighting just how close they are. Neither of them are completely hard yet, but there’s still significant body heat pooling between them.

“You can touch,” Curtis says after a moment.

“Oh,” Keith raises a hand and puts it on Curtis’ waist. Immediately a larger one lands on top.

“Like this,” Shiro says, and begins to move Keith’s hand across the slight curve of Curtis’ hips. “Don’t go in to the belly he’s very ticklish, but,” and then their hands are skimming back up and in to Curtis’ chest.

A nipple is pinched there and Curtis jumps.

“Ah, easy!”

Shiro chuckles lowly. “He’s sensitive.”

Curtis rolls his eyes. “I just don’t want to be brutalized.”

Shiro bumps his hips and for the first time Curtis’ cock slides against Keith’s. There’s no slickness and it’s a little awkward, but the idea that _Shiro_ made it happen really gets to Keith.

“That’s not what you said last week.”

Curtis takes his hand off Keith to reach back and play-smack Shiro. “Shut up and fuck me, will you? I want to focus on getting to know Keith.”

That shocks Keith a little. All his ideas for this threesome, and none of them are in play here. He had thought Curtis would have little interest in him, that he would just be going along with what Shiro wants.

But it’s flattering to be wrong. To see genuine interest from Curtis when he puts his hands back on Keith’s skin.

“And what about me?” Shiro pouts.

“You can watch,” Curtis smiles then. “Don’t you want Keith to have a nice time?”

Keith looks over Curtis’ shoulder then and catches a strange expression on Shiro’s face. It’s pouty certainly, but also a little angry. Before Keith can think to ask though, it’s wiped clear and Shiro is making a show of lubing up his fingers. “Of course I do,” he says, staring at Keith.

It’s then that Curtis’ hand wraps around Keith’s half-hard cock.

Keith gasps from surprise more than anything, his eyes snapping back to the other man.

“We’ll give him a little show this time, what do you think?” Curtis takes his own cock and presses it to Keith’s, encircling both with his hand.

“Y—yeah,” rarely is Keith so caught off guard, but nothing is happening like he thought it would.

“Some lube, I think,” Curtis says, turning his head back to address Shiro.

Shiro stops with whatever prep he’s doing and leans closer to look over his fiancés shoulder. Keith’s cheeks blaze watching him look down and see both his and Curtis’ cocks flushed and pressed together. It looks so dirty.

“Yeah,” Shiro’s voice is low then, and he lifts the bottle of lube over then. “Looks like you need it.”

It drizzles from the bottle and they all watch as it splashes obscenely onto their cockheads. Curtis strokes up immediately and spreads it around, the both of them reacting immediately at the smooth glide.

“Thanks,” Curtis says as he begins to stroke both of their cocks rhythmically.

Shiro hums, but when Keith looks he’s just… staring. Watching their cocks pop in and out of Curtis’ fist. It’s so hot Keith feels the first blurt of precome, and he has to close his eyes so he doesn’t get too worked up so soon.

There’s a low laugh from Curtis. “You still going to fuck me?”

“Uh, yeah,” there’s some shuffling Keith can feel then, and when he opens his eyes Shiro is back behind Curtis.

There’s a stalling period then while Curtis keeps his hand slow and Shiro, Keith assumes, is finishing prep.

Then, “wait!” Curtis says it suddenly, his hand stilling on their cocks. “Let me just—“

Curtis takes his hand back then and leveraged himself up. Before either of them can ask, he’s pushed Keith into his back and is above him.

Their hips press back together, but Curtis supports his upper body on his elbows. Keith blinks at him owlishly.

“Okay,” Curtis says, widening his legs.

And then Keith sees Shiro above them. Can just imagine him lining up—

At the first push Keith _understands._

It’s a dirty trick, and Keith sees that Curtis knows it in a second. Because as Shiro pushes in, he moves Curtis’ hips and his cock against Keith’s.

“Don’t you think it’ll be fun,” Curtis says, “to see if you can come like this?”

Keith’s eyes move from him to Shiro, who is staring down at Keith with the same dawning revelation. His eyes are dark and hungry, and the next fuck in is especially hard.

Curtis makes a sound of pleasure, and Keith can’t keep his own in as a slick cock slides against his. When he catches Shiro’s eyes again there’s a promise, one that says _I will make you come._

Keith almost shivers.

There’s a rhythm then they all fall into then. Curtis pushes back on Shiro’s cock and is fucked forward, grinding on Keith. It’s more tease than anything else for Keith, but every time he looks up Shiro is watching him, and it gets him closer to the edge than he would like to admit.

So he pants and groans and tries to move his own hips to add friction. Shiro’s fucking begins to pick up, and it’s almost like he’s fucking Keith the way the vibrations move through him. It wonderful, hot, and goes on and on.

Curtis begins to moan between them, his forehead resting just beside Keith’s head as he gets closer to finishing. It’s all a swirl of too much, and Keith is losing himself in it. Every time he looks he gets stuck on those eyes watching him. Shiro adjusts and adjusts until he gets the fuck just right and Keith starts to cry out.

“Fuck,” Shiro hisses as they all wind up, faster and faster. “Want you to come, want to make you come,” he grits, hips pistoning in.

“Yeah,” Curtis says, pushing back harder in the chase of his own pleasure, his grinds on Keith filthy. “Almost there.”

Keith gasps, his heart battering. He’s getting so close and a sudden fear spikes in him that it won’t be soon enough. That Curtis will come and then Keith will be left—

“ _Please_ ,” he begs then, clutching not at Curtis but at the sheets. He fucks his hips up, wild and out of control. His eyes are on Shiro begging him, begging to— to—

Shiro makes a savage sound then and drops lower, nearly plastered to Curtis’ back and so, so close to Keith. He fucks harder and for one devastating moment it’s exactly like he’s fucking Keith. Those gorgeous eyes are boring into Keith, demanding Keith give in to the pleasure and come. Demanding he come on Shiro’s cock.

It’s too much and Keith keens, tearing at the sheets as he begins to spill.

“ _Yeah_ ,” Shiro says, voice rough, “yeah, give it to me.”

Keith knows he’s talking to Curtis who is finishing too, but it’s all twisted around in his head. Keith hears it as if it was meant for him, and it makes his orgasm better, higher. He comes in messy splashes with Curtis, flooding both their bellies with come.

Then a second later Shiro is grunting and coming, eyes closed and face in absolute bliss. Keith watches his body move above, fucking his spend into Curtis. It’s a revelation to be so close, to be involved.

Keith watches closely, memorizing every little flutter of eyelashes and panting breath.

It’s unfair that Shiro looks like _that_ when he comes.

When Shiro finishes he quickly backs off and Curtis flops over off Keith. The cool air that rushes in is welcome, Keith’s body feels worn and overheated. It doesn’t help when he catches Shiro looking over them both as if satisfies with his work.

Keith looks down, and then at Curtis’ belly. They’re a mess, and now that the high is over Keith is quickly growing disinterested in having Curtis’ come on him. He must make a face because Shiro excuses himself to get them wash cloths.

Upon his return Keith wipes himself down on the bed, but Curtis takes his and walks off to the bathroom. When the door clicks shut behind him, Shiro sits back down on the bed.

Shiro’s retrieved some underwear, but Keith’s still nude and he’s beginning to feel a little shy about it. He leans over and finds his own underwear on the floor, looking away from Shiro as he pulls it on.

“Was that okay?” Shiro asks.

Keith turns back to him and catches Shiro’s eyes moving off his ass. That warmth returns to Keith’s belly, he likes the idea that even just aesthetically he can catch Shiro's eye.

“Yeah,” Keith says. “It was fun.”

Shiro meets his eyes now, his face open and searching. Keith looks back at him with complete honesty. “Really.”

Shiro beams and pulls him in for a hug, and just like that it’s all slid right back into place. Shiro, wonderful Shiro.

There’s a sound from the bathroom and they part.

“Want to stick around, or…?”

Keith sifts a hand through his hair to try and reorder it. “Probably go. No offense, just weird being the third after the party is over.” He casts Shiro a wry look and the man laughs.

“Fair enough.”

Shiro helps him relocate the rest of his clothing, and then Keith bids a goodnight to Curtis when he reappears.

At the door Shiro catches his wrist before he can leave. “Keith.”

For some reason Shiro’s pinked again, maybe embarrassed or awkward about Keith’s swift exit? “I’m fine, you trust me?”

“Yeah, no. That wasn’t—“ he lets Keith’s wrist go. “Sleep well.”

Keith gives him one last smile. “You too old man, that was quite a workout for you.”

The snort he catches right before the door closes carries Keith back to his own apartment and into his own bed.

That night when he falls asleep he dreams of Shiro on top of him, and Curtis is nowhere to be seen.

##

In the sober light of day Keith still doesn’t find what they did to be an issue. Sure, he’s still not really super into Curtis, but Shiro… well.

Shiro being there really made up for it and then some. So much in fact that Keith wakes the next morning with an effervescent hope in his chest that it wasn’t the last time.

##

His wish proves true three weeks later when Shiro rings him up. Keith’s off-world on a diplomacy mission that ended up involving a wild Flsiy chase, an assassination attempt on the queen of Plaqsy, and Kosmo getting his muzzle in some sort of sticky substance that took hours to clean off. So it’s been a long day when he answers the call.

Shiro has a glass of wine in hand, mostly empty.

“What happened to the beer?”

“Needed something stronger,” he says. And Keith can see the darkness smudges under his eyes then, the tight pull of Shiro’s shoulders.

“Looks like your day was worse than mine, what’s up?”

There’s a moment of immediate concern from Shiro. “Bad day? Wasn’t it supposed to be a simple diplomacy meeting?”

Keith waves him off. “You know how it is out here on foreign planets. You go in for paperwork and then suddenly you’re up to your knees in a peppermint-smelling swamp chasing a two-bit assassin.”

This changes Shiro’s concern to amusement. “Ah, so just another day with the Blades?”

“You could say that, tell me about the wine.”

Shiro sighs, leaning back from the camera. Keith gets a view then of his button down which has been unbuttoned far too low to be decent. Shiro’s tie is still hanging around his neck, undone.

Keith tries desperate not to think about how sexy the image is. Especially as Shiro begins to go in about issues between him and Curtis.

It’s all the same things again. Shiro works too much and then when he comes home Curtis is mad. Curtis wants to relax and Shiro can’t or won’t, and so it’s almost too easy for them to fall into sniping at each other.

“I know it’s been a while since Adam, but I don’t remember it being this hard,” Shiro says then.

Keith clamps down on the words he desperately wants to say: _it shouldn't be hard, it shouldn’t be hard at all._

“We haven’t even had sex since…” he gestures with his glass toward Keith. “And that wouldn’t be a big deal, like I’m not that obsessed with it, it’s just like… sometimes it feels like that’s the only time we’re not fighting, the only time we are ever just being together.”

Shiro sets his glass down, eyes cast down.

“Shit, I hate this me. This guy who just complains and complains about his partner. I hate those people, I don’t want to be one of those people. Curtis is a great guy, it’s shitty that I keep doing this. To him. To you, making you listen.”

“Hey,” Keith’s tone is sharp enough that Shiro looks up. “It’s okay. It’s okay to be frustrated or to vent. You’re not saying Curtis is a bad person, you’re just… frustrated. The worse thing I’ve heard you say about him is that his after work hobbies are kinda boring. And they are.”

A startled laugh gets out of Shiro then.

“I don’t at all mind listening, you’re my best friend.”

“Thanks,” Shiro leans in then, propping his chin up on one hand. Keith is aware then that this is the first video conversation they’ve had about Curtis.

“Sometimes I just wish I were with you. Out there doing crazy missions with the blades. Captain is great, but all the paperwork and meetings are so dull.”

“I do plenty of those too Shiro,” Keith says. All of a sudden Keith's heart is beating faster, but he doesn’t understand why.

“Yeah,” Shiro croons. “But I could handle them better if I was getting a little action.”

Keith gives him a look, “And now we’re back to sex.”

Shiro blinks and then makes a rueful sound. “Shut up that’s not what I meant!”

“Suuuuure.”

For a moment they’re both smiling at each other through the video screen, then Shiro leans back and tugs off his tie. “I don’t know what to do Keith. Can you tell me what to do?”

That is the most dangerous question of the hour, because there’s one option in which Keith will benefit greatly. He takes the weight of that seriously.

“I think,” he says carefully, “you should do whatever will make you happy.”

##

The invitation for the third threesome comes not long after that. Keith doesn’t even have to think about it, even as something in the pit of his belly warns him against it.

He thinks only of Shiro from the call, smiling warmly at Keith and saying, _talking to you makes me happy._

##

There’s little to no negotiations this time, and that’s more than fine with Keith. They’re less training-wheels and more whatever-feels-right the third time around. Keith just shows up at Shiro’s door on the night chosen, dressed down and already a little worked up.

For the first time Curtis answers the door. “Shiro’s finishing some emails,” he intones with an air of displeasure.

Keith nods. “Sometimes you have to physically remove the datapad from his hand.”

Curtis snorts. “That’s definitely more your style. Feel free to,” he gestures as they enter the bedroom.

Sure enough, Shiro is propped up against the headboard typing furiously. At a look from Curtis, Keith does stalk over to the bed and pull the tablet right out from Shiro’s fingers.

“Hey! What—“

“Works over, you getting paid for that overtime?”

“Keith! Oh, is it already seven? Let me just finish,” he reaches for the datapad but Keith holds it away.

“Nope. You can send an email or we can fuck, but you’re only doing one of those tonight.”

Shiro practically sputters at Keith’s boldness. Keith hopes he hasn’t overstepped his bounds with Curtis in the room.

“Choose Shiro,” Curtis says. A hand places itself on Keith’s shoulder.

Shiro looks at the gesture and frowns. “Okay, okay,” he holds his hands up in surrender. “Guess those poor orphan kids of Soiw’re will—“

Keith hands off the datapad to Curtis and swiftly takes up a pillow to hit Shiro in the face. “Don’t you try that shit with me Shiro!”

When Keith pulls the pillow back Shiro is grinning. Keith sees the attack only a second before Shiro snatches his wrist and pulls him down onto the bed.

“I’ll just put this away then,” Curtis says dryly as they tussle briefly on the bed. “Let me know when you’re finished with your foreplay.”

The comment is like a cold bucket of water. They pull apart immediately, looking first at Curtis retreating from the room and then at each other.

 _Is he okay?_ Keith asks Shiro with a look.

 _Let me check,_ Shiro gets up from the bed and follows his fiancé out.

It’s not long before they’re both back. Curtis is looking chagrined. “I apologize Keith, that was a little—“ he shakes his head.

“Should I leave?” Keith’s more than willing to. He’s not trying to be a cause of stress between them.

“No, no. It’s just a bad day more than anything else.” He doesn’t meet Keith’s eyes though, and the physical distance between him and Shiro is striking.

“Are you sure? We can reschedule or something.”

Curtis waves him off. “No. I think I need to do this,” he turns to his fiancé then, a strange energy taking over him. “But this time why don’t we put Shiro in the middle?”

Shiro's eyebrows raise at the abrupt shift. “Oh, uh, sure. Okay?”

Curtis closes the space between them then, one dark hand wrapping around the back of Shiro’s neck. He draws the man in and kisses him hard and filthy. There’s something in Keith that’s still buzzing with a warning, but he can’t place where it's coming from.

“It’s been a while,” Curtis croons when he pulls away just far enough to get words. “Will you let me fuck you Shiro?”

Shiro blinks and blinks and then nods dumbly. Keith feels likewise. Previous to this Curtis has shown no interest in controlling the situation. Now it’s like he’s overrun them both and they’re powerless to follow his current.

“Good.” He backs up then and takes a seat on the bed next to Keith. Keith turns to meet his gaze and it’s hard but steady. There’s something different about him. “Undress him,” Curtis orders with a crook of his finger.

Shiro steps up to the bed, Keith automatically widening his knees to allow Shiro to stand there.

Shiro bends and gently touches Keith’s waist. “This okay,” Shiro asks.

Curtis is watching. Keith nods, flushing hot when Shiro’s fingers then catch the hem of his sleep shirt and pull up.

The urge to run rises, but so does Keith’s curiosity. There’s something entirely new happening here, and he can’t help how he wants to know what it is. He’s always run at danger, and this feels exactly the same.

And Shiro is here. Keith would go with him anywhere, into any danger. He trusts Shiro, trusts what they have. No matter what, they’ll be okay.

So Keith enjoys the way Shiro’s hands skim him. Keith remembers his tease from last time about not being undressed by Shiro. He’d looked at Keith with eyes burning and promised, _next time._

He fulfills it now. Lets it build like a seduction, carefully touching Keith all over with the flimsy excuse of derobing. When Shiro gets to his sweatpants Keith leans back on his hands just to raise his hips. They tilt toward Shiro, drawing his eyes and heavy hands to clutch at his waist.

He begins to pull them down.

“Slower,” Curtis says.

Shiro obeys automatically, and Keith has to bite his lip to keep himself together as the fabric pulls so slowly down his hips, dragging against his cock that’s suddenly completely hard. He watches Shiro, who’s eyes are on his work, watching as Keith’s cock bared to him. It’s heady, how Shiro looks, how he can’t seem to take his eyes off Keith.

And then Keith’s pants are down past his thighs. Shiro lets them drop, just as Keith lowers himself back on the bed. He kicks the last of the clothing free.

“Now you,” Curtis says, standing and moving back around Shiro. His hands wrap around Shiro and tug up his shirt. Curtis meets Keith’s eyes and then leans into Shiro’s ear and whispers something.

It’s too low for Keith to hear over the pounding of blood in his ears, but Shiro raises his arms then. Curtis works the shirt up slowly, obviously for Keith’s benefit.

And _fuck_ what a benefit it is. With Shiro’s arms up above his head all Shiro’s hard won muscles are pulled and on display. He looks good enough to eat.

“Good,” Curtis says as the shirt comes off. He lets Shiro drop his hands back down, and then does an almost exact reproduction of the way Shiro touched Keith during the undressing. It spurns a hot shiver in Keith watching Shiro get fondled in such a clearly seductive way.

Then Curtis is at Shiro’s hips, tugging at the elastic. Shiro’s already hard, his cock huge and obvious in the flimsy fabric.

“Already warmed up?” Curtis says, pressing a hand to the front. There’s a soft sound from Shiro, but Keith can’t look up, can’t look away from the spot of wetness appearing where Curtis has pressed the fabric against the tip. “We’ll have to figure out what to do with this.”

He says it like it’s not in question at all, he's just unwilling to tell them yet.

That’s fine with Keith. It’s all fine with Keith. They’ve barely undressed and Keith already feels dangerously unbalanced.

Curtis then cuts the tension by tugging Shiro’s joggers down with a brisk efficiency. Shiro’s cock bobs up hard and shiny at the tip. Keith swallows hard.

“Keith, lie back,” Curtis waves a hand at him in command as he gets Shiro to step one leg and then the other out of his clothing.

Normally Keith would argue with anyone pushing him around if it wasn’t Shiro, but at this moment he’s a little foggy. All he can think about is Shiro looking like _that._

So he scoots back onto the bed properly and lies down on his back.

There’s a moment of self-consciousness, where Keith’s the only one spread out, but then Shiro catches his eyes. There’s a small smile on his face, one that promises Keith he’s okay, they’re both okay.

At least they are until Curtis taps Shiro’s flank and says, “On top of Keith.”

It hasn’t been at all long since Curtis made the declaration that Shiro was going to be in the middle, but words and reality are so far from each other that the command still catches Keith off guard. Two threesomes behind them and Keith hasn’t yet really touched Shiro. The thought is exciting and nerve wracking. Keith has a good handle on his feelings, he knows he does, but this…

Keith can just tell with every minute his walls are being broken down. Curtis taking control of the situation hadn’t been something Keith had anticipated.

But that’s all the time Keith has to freak out about it, because then Shiro, naked and flushed and fucking _gorgeous,_ is crawling into the bed and over Keith. A gentleman as always, he sits carefully on Keith’s thighs, straddling him.

“Okay?”

Keith nods.

There’s some movement to the side and they both look to see Curtis undressing. He snatches up the bottle of lube when he’s finished.

“Close,” Curtis says as he gets himself onto the bed beside him. “But how am I going to open you up like this?” The man's hand comes up and wraps around the back of Shiro’s neck and then pushes at the same time he orders, “down.”

Shiro folds easily, his hands bracketing Keith as he bends over him.

Instantly they’re close. Too close.

Keith can feel Shiro’s breath on his cheek. The man smiles, “hi,” he says, a little shy.

“Hey,” Keith’s own voice is breathy.

“Perfect,” Curtis says behind them. Keith can feel his movement on the bed, can hear the click of the cap. “Ready?”

Keith doesn’t know if he is now. He has a front view seat to watch Shiro get fingered and then fucked. The idea of it sucks all the air of his lungs. And what is he supposed to do while that happens? Will it be like last time but instead of rubbing against Curtis it’s _Shiro?_

Shiro answers for them both and Keith’s grateful. He’s still suck on the idea of Shiro’s cock, which is bobbing heavy just inches from his skin, will soon be rubbing against his own.

This is going to be over for him very quickly.

Then Shiro is shuffling, his legs widening. It drops them closer. Close enough that if Keith just leaned up a little he could—

He doesn’t know if he should. If it’s allowed. If it’s a good idea for his own heart.

Sex is sex, but kissing is…

“ _Ah_ ,” Shiro says then. It’s the moment Curtis has pushed in with a finger, Keith can just tell. He watches Shiro’s face, how his eyes flutter shut for a moment.

“Good?” Keith asks.

“Yeah,” Shiro responds without thinking. “He’s good with his hands.”

There’s a low laugh from Curtis. “Just you wait.”

It’s a slow build after that. Shiro stays hunched above him, but slowly he begins to move back into the fingers, his expression falling further and further into pleasure. Keith’s entranced, lost in it. Shiro makes rough sounds of enjoyment and they sizzle though Keith’s body. They’re not even really touching yet but Keith’s close, his arousal pressing right up against his skin.

And then a wet drop from Shiro’s leaking cock falls onto his belly. Keith gasps.

Shiro looks down and then apologizes.

“Don’t, it’s— really hot.” Keith's brain to mouth filter is crumbling and it’s barely been any time at all.

Shiro curses.

“Ready?” Curtis says. Shiro swallows audibly and then nods.

There’s a hum of amusement from Curtis and then—

Shiro’s face folds as Curtis presses in. His mouth drops open and he moans in such an obscene manner that Keith feels his own cock pulse. Another drip of precome hits Keith’s skin and burns.

“Good, so _good,”_ Curtis says as he presses in and leans himself over Shiro’s back. Keith catches a movement from his periphery, “widen.”

Shiro moves his legs again, but this time the weight and angle drops him flush onto Keith. They both make sounds as their cocks are pressed between them.

“That’s it,” Curtis says, beginning to move his hips.

The motion works the same as before, pushing the body on top of Keith against him. There’s a moment of discomfort, of Shiro pushing up just slightly and then—

His huge hand is wrapping around Keith, lining them up. It’s wet, lubed, and Keith doesn’t even have the ability to wonder when that happened because Shiro’s sliding against him hot and slick.

It’s too good. Keith’s surrounded by Shiro. He’s warm and close, there’s just enough space not to crush Keith. Shiro’s head is tucked into his shoulder, his gusting breaths tickling Keith’s hair and throat.

Below they rock together as Curtis fucks in. As he fucks them into each other.

Keith’s losing ground fast now. He has no defenses for this, and even if he could he wouldn’t want to block out the sounds Shiro’s making, the heat and partial weight of his body on Keith. Shiro’s cock is huge against his own, perfect for rutting on. Keith’s hands claw onto the man’s hips and keep him steady, he clutches and pulls to get their cockheads just right where the pleasure is electric and ruinous.

“Fuck, I’m— close,” Keith groans. Shiro’s lips are on his ear and Keith doesn’t think it’s intentional, but the sensations are quickly stacking against him.

“Make him come,” Curtis orders sharply, the rhythm of his own fucking slowing. “Shiro.”

Shiro’s hand slides back between them and wraps around Keith. Instantly the edge is precipitously close and Keith cries out.

“Want him to come,” Curtis growls with a slow rocking, “and then I want you to fuck him.”

Shiro gasps into Keith's ear, his hand taking up a fast stroke on Keith’s cock. “Yeah,” Shiro says, voice dark. “You want me to fuck you Keith?”

There’s teeth then on the lobe of his ear and a tight, slick pull on his cock. Keith’s heart is thundering, the impossible idea that Shiro is about to fuck him just too much—

His nails dig sharp into Shiro’s hips and then with a high, startled cry, he starts to come. 

It’s a shock of an orgasm, rolling through him with all the intensity of a storm front. He moans at the feeling of it, spilling and spilling in Shiro’s hand.

“That’s it,” Shiro whispers low in his ear. “ _Stars_ you’re so fucking hot like this. Yeah, _come for me_.”

It’s a blur, the end. Keith’s stuffed full of pleasure and still he’s greedy. As he finishes coming all he can think about is having more, feeling Shiro inside him, coming inside him.

And then Shiro is pulling away. The heat dissolves and Keith blinks his eyes open. Shiro’s back on hands and knees, but it’s by Curtis’ doing. There’s something glittering in the man’s eyes for a moment when he looks down at Keith.

But then it’s gone and Curtis is dropping the lube into Keith’s messy stomach. “Open him up Takashi.”

Shiro, when Keith’s eyes go back to him, is more than a little blissed out. His pupils are swollen and dark, his cock is still attached with a spindly line of fluid to Keith’s skin. He looks like a man who _wants_.

Keith moves his legs out from between Shiro’s and spreads himself on offer. “Shiro,” he says in acquiescence.

Curtis has stopped his fucking for the moment and is just watching. He and Keith are both watching as Shiro quickly fumbles for the bottle and wets his fingers.

When Shiro looks Keith in the eye then, Keith tries to be as steady as he can despite how his whole body is vibrating in anticipation. Shiro must see what he needs though, because he nods vaguely and then reaches down between Keith’s legs.

The first touch lights Keith right back up. If he thought his recovery time was going to be at all an issue, that dispels it. As Shiro pushes a finger into Keith, all Keith feels is thick, dripping arousal flooding back into him.

His eyes close as he tunes into it, willing his brain to remember every moment of it.

The room is mostly silent during this, which works for Keith as he re-imagines the scene. Shiro’s beginning to finger him deeper, and Keith flushes at the fantasy that it’s only them. That Shiro wants him more than just aesthetically, more than just as a bandage on his crumbling relationship.

There are two fingers then fucking into him and small sounds are beginning to fall out of Keith’s mouth, breaking the silence.

“Feel good?” Shiro asks.

Keith can’t bear to open his eyes and remind himself of the reality, so he just bites at his lip and nods. 

Three fingers come not long after with another cold spill of lube. Keith knows he’s making a show of himself by now, but he can’t stop it. It’s like all his guards are down, dangerous, catastrophically down. Shiro’s fingers in him are the last of it, and Keith can do nothing but move on them, moaning at the feeling.

“Look at him,” comes Curtis’ voice. It’s deeper than it usually is, and sharp. Keith’s brain tries to throw up a last alarm but then Shiro’s fingers are deep and grazing his prostate, and every better sense he has scatters. “He’s gorgeous, practically begging for it. You going to give it to him Shiro?”

“Yeah,” Shiro’s own voice is lost.

“I know you want him,” Curtis says. There’s a rhythm in the bedding that starts up again. It’s Curtis fucking into Shiro. “And here’s right here, ripe for the taking.”

Keith cries out in agreement, his body writhing up in display.

Shiro curses blackly.

“Go ahead,” Curtis says. “Show me.”

Keith’s legs are lifted then, and a pillow propped under him for positioning. Keith opens his eyes to try and steady himself enough for what’s about to happen. They catch on Shiro, who’s looking nowhere but at Keith. There’s a thousand things between them in that moment, unspoken but heavy with meaning.

And then Shiro is crouching back over him again, face just inches above Keith’s. Maybe there should be words, a final check, but it’s all abandoned Keith. Everything else is gone except Shiro.

Shiro’s cockhead is a hot, blunt sensation on his hole. As he pushes in neither of them falter, watching each other as this happens between them.

Shiro slides all the way in, slick from the lube and prep. He’s still huge, making space for himself inside Keith, but it’s hard to care about the pain or discomfort. Shiro is in him. Shiro is about to fuck him. Keith’s sure his face must be bright red with how hot he is inside.

Shiro asks an unspoken question when he bottoms out, and Keith nods. He doesn’t need a pause, he needs Shiro. Shiro does as he’s bid, pulling back and pushing back in with exquisite thickness. He just glances Keith’s prostate and the shocks Keith feels everywhere. It's drowning.

It's then that Curtis’ hands appear and curve around Shiro’s hips, tugging the man back.

For a moment his cock almost slips out of Keith, and Keith makes a noise of protest. It’s for nothing though, because the next moment Curtis is fucking forward and driving Shiro into him, hard and deep.

It’s a rough rhythm at the start, relying on the coordination of three bodies. Keith, at the bottom, is nearly helpless. He can only moan every time Shiro fucks back into him, encouraging him on.

Shiro curses as he’s moved by Curtis. His nose and mouth are against Keith’s cheek, and at each fuck he breathes hard against Keith’s skin. He’s so close it wouldn’t take anything to kiss him. Just a tilt of their heads and they would be—

Curtis finally finds the right momentum, and it quickly builds after that. He fucks Shiro who then fists into the bedding on either side of Keith, his cock so deep in Keith’s hole it’s making Keith dizzy with pleasure. None of this will last, but Keith’s immediately grateful for the first orgasm, for having a slightly longer tether this second time around.

Not that it counts for much when Shiro’s hands find his in the bedding.

Shiro stretches him out then and pins Keith down underneath him to fuck him better. It’s strangely intimate, and Keith’s heart tumbles when he feels Shiro squeeze his hands and mumble something into his cheek.

“You’ve wanted this forever,” Curtis says then, fucking savagely into Shiro who’s started making cut-off groans. “Take him then,” he goads, “show him how much you want it.”

Something about it incites Shiro, and he moves from Keith’s face to start biting and sucking into Keith’s neck. “I want,” he growls lowly so only Keith can hear, and it’s a knife of pleasure in Keith’s belly.

“Please,” Keith begs as everything left in him begins to slip. He’s aware of it, but too far gone to care.

“Want you,” Shiro whispers it like a confession, and it shears Keith down to his core. “Always want you,”

It’s all wrong, but Shiro’s fucking right into his spot and Keith has nothing left to deflect or deny with. He’s bare here with Shiro, completely bare and at the edge of himself. “ _Takashi_ ,” he says it like a swear, a request, a plea. Keith feels like a sandcastle on a cliff crumbling, and he needs the one person he trusts there to catch him.

Shiro comes up out of the hollow of his throat and this time when they look at each other it’s like seeing clearly finally. In Shiro's face is the same decimation, the same bare need.

“Keith,” he says his name like it’s precious, like it’s everything.

Keith's whole body rises to meet him, _wanting_.

They kiss like it's the only one they'll ever get, messy and too slick. Shiro leverages his weight and presses Keith back down into the bed. The angle shifts then and it clicks. Molten electricity spins out everywhere they’re touching. Shiro is squeezing his hands, fucking him deep, and his tongue is in Keith’s mouth licking and sucking. It’s a plundering, one Keith doesn’t want to ever stop. He moans into Shiro’s mouth, trying to convey how much he wants, how much he loves—

And then Shiro is giving it right back. He kisses Keith like a man possessed, and every shadow of a doubt just flees Keith. This is a man who _loves_ him. Really, truly, _loves_ him.

 _Stars_. 

The pleasure spikes then and Keith doesn’t even try to fight it. He kisses Shiro endlessly, giving his caught sounds to the slick meeting of their lips. When the edge of oblivion rises then to swallow him, Keith doesn’t even think twice, he throws himself over.

His orgasm makes everything else fall away. It’s white and red hot and he has to tear his mouth off to breath or scream or garble Shiro’s name. Keith can feel Shiro’s frantic energy, the fuck that drags out his orgasm, pulse after pulse. _Don’t stop,_ he thinks he says. Impossible to know. He writhes against strong hands that hold him down, enjoying an orgasm longer than anything else before it. It’s good, so fucking good.

And then he collapses, spent.

“Fuck, Keith I’m—“ Shiro’s still moving inside him, and he looks drunk on it. Keith’s eyes are glossy, but he meets Shiro’s.

“Come in me Takashi,” Keith says with a graveled, ruined voice.

He does.

It’s better than the two that Keith’s witnessed before. Shiro makes a sound of abandonment, and Keith can see all his restraint fall away. He was holding back before, but he isn't now and it's stunning. The last few thrusts are deep and punishing, but Keith takes them. He takes all of Shiro and then--

Keith can feel the heat flood him. Shiro groans against his skin, louder than he's been in any of these trysts. Keith takes it all in carefully, pressing it into his memory for safe keeping.

Behind him he can hear Curtis finishing, the momentum in the bed slowing.

A sliver of reality slips back in then. Keith watches as it comes over Shiro too as he finishes. He blinks his eyes open, staring down at Keith in shock.

_Did we…?_

_Yeah._

_And Curtis?_

_And Curtis._

Everything rewinds back too fast in Keith’s head and important little pieces slot back into place. But it’s too late, too after the fact.

Curtis pulls out and gets off the bed. He’s silent even as Shiro gets off Keith and they both turn their attention toward him.

He’s careful, meticulous even as he stands and plucks his underwear off the floor. Keith sits up and Shiro’s there beside him. Neither of them bother to speak, neither of them offer excuses.

It would be obvious to a blind man what just happened. What Curtis allowed to happen.

Curtis pulls his pants on and then his shirt. Then he turns to finally look at them. His face is blank, more tired than anything. “I needed to do that,” Curtis says. “I needed to know.”

Then, horrifyingly, he reaches for his ring and tugs it off.

“Curt—“

Curtis holds up a hand to stop Shiro’s plea. “Don’t. It doesn’t matter.” He walks to the bedside table and drops the ring on it. “I’ve known for a while this wasn’t working, and now we both can be honest about why.”

It’s not said maliciously, but too calm and measured. Keith can only stare in shock. he can’t imagine what Shiro’s feeling.

“I have a bag in the closet. I’m going to spend some time at Quinn’s, we can sort the stuff later.”

“You’re leaving? Just like that?”

Curtis stops from his walk to the closet and turns to face Shiro. “Shiro do you really want to sit there and make the case for us? Right here in front of Keith?”

There’s an awkward glance from both of them toward him.

“You’re a good man, so you would on principal, but I’m not where your heart is, and I don’t think anything would change that. It would be awful for us to keep doing this.”

Curtis walks to the closet and gets, sure enough, a full, already packed duffel bag. The rest of the clues from the night fall into place. His weird mood, his insistence on setting it up. How he urged Shiro to— to—

Keith doesn’t know if he should feel guilty or mad or just so fucking grateful for Curtis.

Curtis walks back to the bed and straight for Keith. “I don’t hate you,” Curtis says directly to him. “Maybe I should, but none of this was a surprise. Once I thought maybe Shiro would move on… but it’s become clear that he can’t. You’ll make him happy.”

He turns then to Shiro.

“I’m sorry,” Shiro says.

“I don’t hate you either,” Curtis says, touching his cheek gently. Keith can just see the light glisten of tears in Shiro’s eyes. “Just stop being a fucking idiot and dating other people when you’re already in love with someone else.”

Shiro nods dumbly. “Are you going to be okay?”

Curtis sighs then. “Yeah, after I go and badmouth you for weeks to Quinn and we go out and get smashed and sing bad karaoke, I think I’ll be okay. Don’t be surprised though if I don’t want to see you for a while.”

“Okay.”

Curtis bends down then and presses a kiss to Shiro’s cheek. “I’ll show myself out.”

They sit in silence then listening to his footsteps and the the front door shut.

Shiro sniffs then and Keith turns to him immediately, wrapping his arms around the man. “Are you okay?”

Shiro buries his head in Keith’s throat. “Yeah,” he mumbles, “I’m not even really surprised, which is the worst part. We hadn’t been doing great for a while.”

Keith knows. Keith knows far too well. The guilt is beginning to win out. If he hadn’t said yes, if he hadn’t—

“I’m sorry,” he blurts. “I didn’t want— I wasn’t trying to—“

Shiro pulls back then, hands on each of Keith’s cheeks. “No, Keith. You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m the one who came up with this. I wanted… and Curtis was right. Even after the first time, I didn’t even touch you but all I could think about was you.” He looks down, shaking his head. “I thought I was over you, thought I was moving on. What a mess.”

Keith hums, still a little stunned by the plain way Shiro talks about him. Then his stupid brain reminds him, “and you said missionary was boring,” the words fall out of Keith’s mouth before he can think better of it.

There’s a moment of silence and then, surprisingly, Shiro laughs. It’s a low, wonderful sound that becomes even better when Shiro tilts them sideways and they fall back into the bedding. “I did, didn’t I? Well I stand corrected, nothing’s boring when you’re involved.”

They’re close then, the low lighting spinning it’s spell once again. “Do you regret it?” Keith asks seriously.

Shiro’s hand comes up to trace the scar on his cheek. “No,” he says just as seriously. “Only that I wasted so much time. Hurt two good men who didn’t deserve it.”

Keith’s eyebrows wrinkle at this. “Two?”

Shiro pulls him in then, a heart wrenching smile on his face as he looks at Keith meaningfully. _Oh_. “Will you forgive me for being so stupid?”

Keith’s heart feels like it’s gushing everywhere. He can’t understand how they’re here. It’s not a fairy tale ending, but a messy and gray-shaded thing. A real thing. Shiro’s engagement is dead in the water, and likely there will soon be rumors abound in the Garrison, but it's real. Shiro's...

“Join the Blades with me,” Keith says instead of an answer. The clarity spreads back over him, and he can see it all- their future spread before them. Keith wants it. “You hate it here, come with me.”

Shiro’s already nodding, a finger moving to tuck Keith’s hair back behind one ear. “ _Yes_.”

The answer comes so simply that Keith has to kiss him then. The burst of warmth in him is so effervescent he has to make it physical.

Just a second later he remembers that Shiro was _just_ dumped, and pulls back. “Shit, sorry, that might be too soon.”

Shiro holds him close though and kisses the side of his mouth. “Maybe, but we’ve never been that conventional.”

Keith snorts. His eyes then stray to Shiro’s hands. Curtis left his ring, but Keith notices Shiro doesn’t have one.

Shiro picks this up immediately. “He never got me one, I never insisted.” His hand moves then to twine with Keith’s. “So many things now seem so much clearer.”

“Yeah.”

“Will you stay the night? And tomorrow we can go and arrange the paperwork for my departure.”

“Just like that?” Keith can’t stop looking at where their fingers are woven together.

“Just like that.” There’s a sigh and Shiro curls closer. “I don’t want to wait. I don’t want to lose any more time. I know I should, should wait some nebulous amount of time before you and I— but earlier… there’s never been anything like that. I didn’t think I’d ever have a chance, I couldn’t see it before, and now I’m too afraid to lose it.”

Shiro’s talking around all the bigger things crowded in the room with them, but Keith follows him seamlessly. It’s everything he’s never even dared to dream. “Me too.”

Shiro squeezes him. “In the morning,” he mumbles into Keith’s hair. Keith can tell they’re winding down now, the emotions of the night finally settling.

Keith hasn't cleaned from.. earlier, and he really should take a trip to the bathroom, but he can’t bear to move from Shiro’s warm cocoon.

“You’ll be here in the morning,” Shiro whispers, it's more statement than question.

Keith snuggles close, everything else forgotten. “I will,” he says.

After that the room is silent. Keith falls asleep to the steady sound of Shiro breathing. As he drifts off he can feel where their hands are still woven together, he even imagines he can feel their hearts beating nearly against one another, perfectly in sync.

It’s a mess, Keith thinks, but he's so grateful for it.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this whole fic just to write that last scene because I couldn't get it out of my head. I know a lot of people have strong feelings about Man(TM) being with Shiro, but tbh he's just such a non-issue to me. Have you /seen/ sheith? The chemistry is unstoppable. 
> 
> Still I hate dunking on somebody who was just looking for love. I know he comes off a little nefarious as points in this fic, but from his side of the story he's really just working through some shit. 
> 
> Shiro: hey we should invite Keith to have sex with us  
> Man: oh the keith who saved your life and you're still holding a torch for?????  
> Shiro: what! no!  
> Man: *dagger eyes as he puts it on the calendar* WE SHALL SEE
> 
> I'm on twitter where I write lewd threads and talk about what fics are coming next!  
> @an_aphorism


End file.
